QUEDLINBURG, _November 22nd, 1914_.
Court of the Ersatzbataillon, 5th Hannoverian Infantry Regiment No. 165.
Present:
MOELLMANN, Lieutenant, as Officer of the Court.
BRINGERN, Sergeant-Major, as Military Clerk.
There appeared as witness Musketeer August Zander, 3rd Ersatz Company,
5th Hannoverian Infantry Regiment No. 165, shop assistant by calling,
and after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, he
was examined as follows:
As to Person: My name is August Zander, aged 21; Protestant; born in
Schönebeck a.E., now living in Quedlinburg infantry barracks.
As to Case: On August 21st I was brought to the field hospital at
Louvain because I was hurt in the foot. The field hospital was situated
in the barracks of the 11th Belgian Line Infantry Regiment, opposite
the military hospital, and was recognisable by a Red Cross flag.
Food was conveyed to us regularly by young Belgians, who visited
a school in Louvain to train as clerics, by a few Dominicans or
Franciscans, who wore yellow coats, and also by a few civilians. The
nursing attendants wore white armlets with the red cross.
On August 25th these people, who had given us our food, had from the
afternoon onwards disappeared without a trace. The evening meal we
received on this evening from a civilian; it must in some way have
been spoiled, for most who had eaten of it were attacked by violent
diarrhoea.
In the evening, when most were already abed, it may have been 9 or
9.30, we heard suddenly violent firing. All who could jumped from their
beds and endeavoured to get rifles to defend themselves.
The senior soldier present in the field hospital was a battalion
drummer (sergeant-major) from Regiment No. 27, who was lying in bed
severely wounded. He tried to quiet us by saying that we were under the
protection of the Red Cross; no one could hurt us. Those of us who had
been able to get rifles crowded to the entrance of the field hospital
in order to defend ourselves.
I saw quite clearly two or three persons sitting on the roof of a
neighbouring house, who fired at our hospital.
Below at the door, where the guard stood, we heard violent firing.
One could distinguish clearly between the pistol firing, carried out
by the Belgians, and the rifle fire of our own troops. Meanwhile, one
or other of our soldiers came to us and told us to rest quietly; the
attack undertaken by the inhabitants had failed. They only said that
our sentinels were having a bad time, that they were covered with hot
tar, and were suffering great pain.
Finally we went to bed again. We heard throughout the night single
pistol shots, which could be clearly distinguished from our rifle shots.
Next morning, between 8 and 9, I had gone into the court. Two other
soldiers were near. Suddenly about ten pistol shots were fired on
us, which, as I saw clearly, struck the ground quite close to me.
The shots had evidently been fired from the opposite roof by pushing
back the tiles. On the way to the station, which we took on the same
morning, we were repeatedly told by our posts to take care, as more
shots had been fired. At the Louvain station it was some hours before
the field hospital train went off. During this time several pistol
shots fell again at the end of our column, which were evidently
intended for the hospital train; a comrade was immediately afterwards
carried from the rear part of the column, where he had just been
severely wounded in the legs, to the front of the train.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed: AUGUST ZANDER.
The witness was then sworn.
Signed as above.
Signed: MOELLMANN. Signed: BRINGERN.